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Three armed robberies that took place within a few metres from each other had three local police stations in a fix last night.
Though all three crimes took place around Reay Road railway station, they fell in the jurisdiction of three different police station Wadala, Kalachowkie and Sewri. This means that though the robberies are probably the work of a single gang of thieves, three police stations will investigate the case independently.
A little after midnight, Chandrakant Ghorpade (42) a constable from Nehru Nagar Police station, was attacked on the port trust train tracks outside Reay Road station. His watch and gold chain were robbed, and he suffered injuries to his wrists and arms. The area falls under the Wadala police station.
Earlier, at 11.45 pm, a group of thieves attacked Yaseen Shaikh (22), who was on his way home from his contract labour job. He was attacked near a shed at the point where Reay Road station ends.
The robbers attacked him with choppers and stones and robbed him of his watch, cell phone and money. Kalachowkie police station will investigate this case.
Less than an hour after Shaikhs attack, Mohammed Khan (50) a worker at the port trust, was robbed of his mobile and Rs 60 soon after he crossed the tracks and reached the main road. He suffered injuries to his head, arms and hands. The road adjoining the shed and tracks falls under Sewri police station.
Officers from all three police stations went to the spot and spent a couple of hours in the middle of night deciding whose jurisdiction each case fell into.
However, the officers confessed off the record that the case should ideally have been handled by a single police station to prevent duplication of work. However, orders from their seniors forced them to tackle the three cases separately.
We had to first sort out which crime occurred where and divide them among ourselves, said an officer from Wadala TT police station, who did not wish to be named.
While the police were sorting out this confusion, Ghorpade was discharged from JJ Hospital after receiving first aid, while Khan and Shaikh are still recuperating. | 
